Women stood with donation boxes for the family near the site where a young schoolgirl was run over. Two fatalities were reported in East Palo Alto Wednesday September 28, 2011. The first when an SUV being chased by police ran into a motorcyclist killing him, the second when a young schoolgirl was run over in a crosswalk only a few blocks away.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Women stood with donation boxes for the family near the site where...

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The young schoolchild victim known Sioreli is identified by a classmate in a school picture. She is the third from left, bottom row, in red. Two fatalities were reported in East Palo Alto Wednesday September 28, 2011. The first when an SUV being chased by police ran into a motorcyclist killing him, the second when a young schoolgirl was run over in a crosswalk only a few blocks away.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

The young schoolchild victim known Sioreli is identified by a...

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Mario Avieles prepares to light a candle in memory of the young schoolgirl who was run down. He knew the child as his children attend the same nearby school. Two fatalities were reported in East Palo Alto Wednesday September 28, 2011. The first when an SUV being chased by police ran into a motorcyclist killing him, the second when a young schoolgirl was run over in a crosswalk only a few blocks away.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Mario Avieles prepares to light a candle in memory of the young...

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Pedestrians make their way across Bay Street at University where the motorcyclist was struck and killed. Two fatalities were reported in East Palo Alto Wednesday September 28, 2011. The first when an SUV being chased by police ran into a motorcyclist killing him, the second when a young schoolgirl was run over in a crosswalk only a few blocks away.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Pedestrians make their way across Bay Street at University where...

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Lonnie McGee (left) brought some stuffed animals to begin a memorial for the young schoolgirl who was killed. Two fatalities were reported in East Palo Alto Wednesday September 28, 2011. The first when an SUV being chased by police ran into a motorcyclist killing him, the second when a young schoolgirl was run over in a crosswalk only a few blocks away.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Lonnie McGee (left) brought some stuffed animals to begin a...

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Mario Avieles gets a hug from Dorothy McGee as the two meet near the spot where the young schoolgirl was run over. Avieles knew the girl, his own children are in her class. Two fatalities were reported in East Palo Alto Wednesday September 28, 2011. The first when an SUV being chased by police ran into a motorcyclist killing him, the second when a young schoolgirl was run over in a crosswalk only a few blocks away.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Mario Avieles gets a hug from Dorothy McGee as the two meet near...

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Maggie McDuffy who witnessed the schoolgirl fatality points to the spot where the little girl was hit on Bay Street. Two fatalities were reported in East Palo Alto Wednesday September 28, 2011. The first when an SUV being chased by police ran into a motorcyclist killing him, the second when a young schoolgirl was run over in a crosswalk only a few blocks away.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Maggie McDuffy who witnessed the schoolgirl fatality points to the...

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Families gather near the spot on Bay Street where a young schoolgirl was killed by a motorist. Two fatalities were reported in East Palo Alto Wednesday September 28, 2011. The first when an SUV being chased by police ran into a motorcyclist killing him, the second when a young schoolgirl was run over in a crosswalk only a few blocks away.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Families gather near the spot on Bay Street where a young...

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Neighbors hold hands and pray near the spot where a young schoolgirl was run over. Two fatalities were reported in East Palo Alto Wednesday September 28, 2011. The first when an SUV being chased by police ran into a motorcyclist killing him, the second when a young schoolgirl was run over in a crosswalk only a few blocks away.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

Neighbors hold hands and pray near the spot where a young...

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Young Ropeti Kapisi, who knew the young victim stopped by a memorial for his friend. Two fatalities were reported in East Palo Alto Wednesday September 28, 2011. The first when an SUV being chased by police ran into a motorcyclist killing him, the second when a young schoolgirl was run over in a crosswalk only a few blocks away.

EAST PALO ALTO -- Sioreli Torres would have turned 7 on Sunday. But instead of celebrating her birthday, her family is making plans for her funeral, helped by donations from friends and classmates at her East Palo Alto school.

Sioreli was walking in front of her family in a crosswalk at Bay Road and Gloria Way about 8 a.m. Wednesday when she was hit by a 1998 BMW driven by F. Alisha White-Parker, 49, of East Palo Alto, police said.

The district placed White-Parker on paid administrative leave after the crash. She has convictions for speeding, for using a non-hands-free cell phone while driving and for failing to stop at a limit line or crosswalk, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

The district has taken up a collection for Sioreli's family at each school, said Assistant Superintendent James Lovelace. Money from district staffers will go toward purchasing a headstone for Sioreli, and St. Francis of Assisi Church is paying for her burial plot, Lovelace said.

Sioreli's death came several hours after another traffic fatality just a block away in which a suspect allegedly fleeing in a Land Rover from police crashed into and killed a motorcyclist.

The suspect, Eric Banford, 46, of East Palo Alto, was charged Friday with murder, vehicular manslaughter, evading police and hit-and-run, all felonies. The crash at University Avenue and Bay Road killed Danny Lee Dixon, 50, of East Palo Alto.

Banford was smoking methamphetamine while fleeing from officers who were investigating reports of a burglary, said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. His passengers had been urging him not to "light up and drive," Wagstaffe said.

If convicted, Banford could be sentenced under the state's "three strikes" law because of two previous convictions, one for voluntary manslaughter in 1991 and the other for robbery in 1987. "He is somebody who deserves the higher punishment of the law because of the priors," Wagstaffe said.

The manslaughter conviction resulted from a plea deal in a case in which Banford was originally charged with murder. Banford punched the victim in the head during a drug-related robbery in East Palo Alto and was sentenced to 16 years in state prison. Witness issues led to the plea deal, Wagstaffe said.